If you like to read and haven’t purchased an ebook yet, do so.  They are wonderful –easy to use, lightweight and enable one to store numerous books without the extra weight and room that real “books’ require.

~ 5-Time Vantage Traveler • Brookshire, Texas

Do you have a tablet that you read eBooks on? Which one do you use? Which great books are you reading?

You may think the language barrier is a large wall to climb, and it can be, so why not start small? Some important and common phrases you’ll want to know before traveling to a foreign country are: “hello,” “please,” “thank you,” “excuse me,” and “good-bye.” Once you’ve mastered those try: “Food,” ‘hotel,” “airport,” “train,” and “bank.” Although it is estimated that 1.8 billion people in the world can speak some amount of English, we think connecting with the culture and learning a thing or two isn’t so bad!

There are countless resources for learning a new language, but to get you started, try Google Translate and take a couple languages and words for a test drive!

What words or phrases do you think are most useful when traveling to a foreign country? What resources have you used to help you break that barrier?

You know those pesky perfume paper samples they stick in the magazines? Put them in your suitcase(s) in between trips.  It  makes the bags smell nice and keeps them from smelling musty in storage.

You can also save these perfume samples and bring them along with you instead of a bulky perfume bottle that could leak! Just rub them on and toss them out!

-Tip submitted by a 5-time Vantage traveler from Greenville, RI.

Do you have any great travel tips? Feel free to share them with a comment below!

Packing for a trip can be a daunting task. What to bring? How much to bring? With help from a blog post by Jack Thomas, here are a few tips to get you started.

Pick two basic colors of clothing.

• Picking two basic colors of clothing will allow you to limit the number of shoes and accessories you have to bring.

Plan on doing laundry.

• Try to bring no more than a weeks worth of clothing.  When you run out of clean clothes, just do a quick wash!

Bring washable silk

• Washable silk is as good as cotton. It keeps you warm and cool. Washable silk dries overnight and 10-15 pieces take the same space as 2 pairs of jeans.

Bring a rain coat

• A plastic rain coat can double as a bathrobe or windbreaker.

Bring old clothes

• If you bring old clothing, you can discard it along the way! That way you can have more room for souvenirs!

Plan ahead

• Make sure you check the weather before you leave. Although weather can be unpredictable,  this should give you a good indication of what’s ahead.

Do you have any other great packing tips? Let us know!

Prepare for the Weather
Check the typical weather for your destinations before you begin to pack. It is always a good idea to wear “layers” in order to accommodate for changes in the weather. Always bring clothes that will accommodate for weather that is outside the temperature ranges that you find for your travel destinations in order to stay comfortable on your trip!

Organize packing by your “Typical Day”
If you can’t decide what to pack for your upcoming trip, make a checklist. When making your checklist, run through your daily activities to decide what is important and what is not. Think about the steps you take throughout your day from when you wake up, to when you go to sleep. Only bring the daily necessities.

Don’t Pack More than you Need!
Pack according to the specific trip you are going on. Remember, you will have the opportunity to buy clothes and toiletries at your destination. Most stores will sell travel size toiletries. Also, take advantage of laundry services in hotels and on cruise ships, these will help you pack lightly and will also open up more room for souvenirs. It is a good idea to pack some of your older clothes that you are willing to dispose of on your trip because it will help free up space for new clothes and souvenirs.

Thank you for reading!

P.S.  Before leaving on your trip, evaluate your health in order to determine if you need medicines, pack accordingly!

Document your Trips
When traveling, take photographs and write in a journal to record places that you have experienced. You can look back on these and decide which experiences you enjoyed most and which ones you would like to experience again. If you keep records of your past trips, you will be able to plan for a future trip where you can experience new places or if you would like, places that you been to before and enjoyed the most. After your trip, upload photos to a personal photo page or our blog and Facebook to show others the great experience that you had!

Give your travel company feedback
Help insure that your next trip is the best possible by giving your travel company feedback about your experience. Post responses to their blog and Facebook or fill out post- trip surveys. Be sure to include everything about your trip, both good and bad. This feedback provides the travel company with the ways in which they can improve their services. In the end, your feedback will provide you with a greater future travel experience.

A Final Tip
Be prepared for anything. When you leave the United States, don’t expect to encounter our way of life again until you return home. Enjoy all the sights, people, and sounds around you.  It will be a unique cultural experience. You can enhance your experience by trying to speak the language, sampling their most traditional foods, asking questions, keeping up on the latest news and embracing cultural traditions. These tips will help you come home a more knowledgeable person with a lifetime of happy memories.

Thanks for reading 151 Travel Tips, Be sure to keep updated with the blog for more insight to make your travel experiences the best ever.

Here are some tips to help you stay healthy when you travel to other countries.

• If you take prescription medications, make absolutely sure that you have ordered enough of your medicine to last you throughout your entire trip, plus at least seven days beyond your expected date of return. It is always best to be over-prepared rather than to find yourself in a far-away place without the medication that you need to stay safe and healthy. Inform your doctor of your travel plans, and find out what you should do if you have a medical problem while you are away. Make sure that you carry a list of your health conditions and the medications that you are taking in your wallet or on your person in the event that there is a medical emergency when you are away. At the top of the list, clearly print your name, your doctor’s name and telephone number, and the telephone number and name of an emergency contact from back home. Your fellow travelers should also be privy to all this information, as you should be about their health conditions and medication use.
• Depending on your situation, ask for a prescription for some just-in-case antibiotics. Azithromycin or ciprofloxacin are frequently prescribed, but discuss with your doctor what would be best for you.
• Plan ahead. If you need any immunizations or vaccinations, see your doctor at least 6 weeks before you leave. Some vaccines don’t reach the highest protection until about 6 weeks after you get the shots.
• Do your homework. The CDC has a very helpful country-by-country list of health hazards. In addition to disease information, they also provide info on safety, crime, security, insects, etc.

The next time you’re preparing for a cruise, keep these tips in mind:

• A good rule of thumb is to pack one outfit for every 2 to 2 1/2 days of travel
• Pack lightly, especially for warm-weather cruises. Just remember to toss in a sweater , shawl, or light fleece  for cool evenings and hyper-air-conditioned ships.
• Don’t bother buying anything new. For day wear, simply wear what you usually do at home: slacks or shorts, T-shirts or sweatshirts, and comfortable shoes such as flip-flops or sandals.
• Bring a pair of rubber-soled walking shoes for slippery decks and shore excursions.
• For colder climes, include a warm-up suit. Consider lightweight thermal underwear in place of bulky outer garments.
• The clothing you bring should be wrinkle resistant.
• In the event your clothes require extra TLC, some ships have complimentary self-service laundries for passengers wishing to wash and iron on your own. If you’re sailing on one that does, pack fewer items. Self-service laundries are a handy feature, especially when you consider that travel irons are verboten on most ships (they’re electrical fire hazards) and shipboard laundry services can be expensive.
• Remember, even when formal wear is requested, it is not required. If dressing up to the nines isn’t your thing, don’t feel obligated.
• The key to packing smart is bringing mix-and-match clothing.
• Pack sleepwear, underclothes, and some inexpensive foul-weather gear (a rain slicker or collapsible umbrella). Toss in a tote bag for carrying odds and ends.

Amsterdam's canals charm visitors in any season.

Fewer tourists. More connections with locals. No summer heat. Way cheaper.

Welcome to off-season travel, which more and more savvy travelers are choosing every year for a multitude of good reasons.

Take Holland & Belgium, for instance — two European destinations popular in many packaged vacations. At the height of the tourist season – mid-April through September – these countries are overrun with travelers from around the world chasing beautiful bulbs or warm weather. But the weather in Holland & Belgium is rarely harsh, even in the dead of winter.  (temperatures average in the upper 40s in Amsterdam in March, for example – not too bad!)

And while you may not see as many bulbs traveling in March, you’ll more than make up for it in access to cultural experiences and conversations with locals. Yes, you might run into a cold rain while walking around Ghent. But imagine ducking into a café, ordering a stout ale or a plate of stoemp and sausages, and settling down for a robust conversation with a Ghent local about Belgian life. Many travelers cite encounters like this as the highlight of their trip – and it all happened off-season. With fewer tourists fighting for café stools and museum tickets, it’s quite possible that off-season travel affords travelers more exposure to “daily life” in Holland or Belgium than a high-season trip.

Don’t forget about the savings one can enjoy avoiding the high season. Vantage Deluxe World Travel, for instance, is currently offering March departures for its Holland and Belgium river cruise for up to $1600 per person less than May departures. And while you’re there, you’ll enjoy off-season prices at many restaurants and museums. You could use some of that money you saved to splurge for that afternoon coffee or tea to warm up in Amsterdam or spring for an extra optional excursion or two.

Whatever your destination of choice, you may want to consider connecting with the locals on their own turf … experiencing high culture without the crowds … and enjoying huge savings – by taking an off-season trip.

It might just become your best-kept travel secret.

PHOTO: AMSTERDAM CANAL BY LARS BRINKMAN VIA STOCK.XCHG.

Street vendor roasting chestnuts in Seville, Spain. To find the best street food, watch where the locals go.

Budget Travel Magazine recently released its list of the cities with the world’s tastiest street food. An eclectic selection of culinary treasure troves, the list features a number of Vantage destinations: Rio de Janeiro (#6), Brussels (#8), Vienna (#9), Istanbul (#10), Tel Aviv (#11), Bangkok (#12) and Hanoi (#13).

But while sampling a city’s delicious food can be one of the most gratifying aspects of traveling, smart travelers take special care to make sure what they’re eating won’t make them sick. Remembering a handful of general principles relating to food safety can make your culinary experience the best it can be — whether you’re picking up a fresh acai shake in Rio or a sabich pita sandwich in Tel Aviv.

1. Drinking water is the most common source of dietary problems while traveling. Because foods are often washed and cooked in water, water quality ought to be a concern for any discerning traveler. [Note: We recommend bringing along a reusable bottle to refill with water that has been boiled or purified with tablets, which are available at most outdoors stores. Plastic bottle waste is one of the biggest environmental crises in many developing countries popular to travelers.] As a last resort, bottled water is available in most places around the world.
2. Above safety concerns in mind, drink lots of water. You’re walking around a lot, often in warm temperatures, and thus your likelihood of becoming dehydrated is much higher than when you’re sedentary. Aim for drinking around 2 Liters of water throughout the day.
3. Live by the colonial mantra, “Cook it, wash it, peel it or forget it.” Foods that are cooked or in their peels are less susceptible to airborne contaminants than raw or uncooked foods. Any raw fruits or vegetables you consume should be washed in purified water.
4. Stick to condiments – like mayonnaise, ketchup and salad dressing – that are served in sealed packages.
5. Order meats and eggs well-done or medium-well and eat them while they are hot.
6. In certain places, avoid cold meat platters, cheese, buffet foods, unpasteurized dairy products and unsealed condiments.
7. Fish tend to accumulate and store contaminants from a variety of sources. Order seafood at your own risk and only from well-trusted sources.
8. A good snack food in most places are nuts and other shelled foods.
9. Not all street vendors or restaurants are created equal. Ask locals or a hotel concierge for their recommended list of restaurants or vendors, or else follow the crowds to the area’s better dining-out spots.
10. Bring your own plates and utensils, if you have them. This is a way to cut risk from food-borne illness due to improper washing.

Though these tips don’t apply in every travel situation, thinking about what you’re eating and drinking while traveling will ensure that you stay happy and healthy while on vacation. For the latest food advisories in your travel destinations, visit The World Health Organization’s Food Safety website before you leave home.

PHOTO CREDIT: CHESTNUTS IN SEVILLA BY SUE ANNA JOE VIA STOCK.XCHNG.